Primary-Prevention-Briefing

Primary
of
Prevention
Against
Violence
and Girls
Women
Updated:
2019
February
BRIEFING:
www.zerotolerance.org.uk
info@zerotolerance.org.uk

Against Women and Girls (VAWG) is an intolerable injustice in Scotland, preventing our
Violence
from being as safe, healthy and successful as it could be. VAWG remains:
society
within Scotland - reported sexual crimes have increased by 97% since 2007-08
Prevalent
by 13% from 11,092 in 2016-17 to 12,487 of sexual offences in total in 2017-18.
and
1% from the previous year. In 2017-18, women made up the majority (82%) of the victims in
of
of domestic abuse recorded by the police, where the gender of the victim is known.
incidents
Scotland; this number has increased by 99% in the last 10 years. There were also 4,826
Police
of sexual assault reported to Police Scotland in 2017-18.
cases
harmful to women and children – VAWG can cause severe and long-lasting physical
Extremely
mental health problems, lowered self-esteem, reduced participation in the workforce,
and
in women’s inequality - VAWG is caused in the unequal power relations between
Rooted
patriarchal norms and toxic masculinity that damage all genders. This manifests as
genders,
economic, social and political power, objectification of women and unequal distribution
unequal
caring responsibilities.
of
a continuum – the phrase ‘VAWG’ reflects complex and interlinked experiences of
On
violation, abuse and assault in the lives of women and girls.
harassment,
is Primary Prevention?
What
is caused by gender inequality. Primary prevention tackles this root cause of VAWG in
VAWG
to eradicate it and can be described as a long term strategy preventing violence from ever
order
by challenging attitudes, values and the structures that sustain inequality and
happening
violence.
this way, it differs from secondary prevention, which intervenes once violence has already
In
to prevent it from continuing, and tertiary prevention, which works to prevent and
happened
the long-term, harmful impacts of violence. The line between these different forms of
minimise
https://www.gov.scot/binaries/content/documents/govscot/publications/statistics-publication/2018/11/domestic-abuserecorded-police-scotland-2017-18/documents/00543362-pdf/00543362-pdf/govscot%3Adocument
and Westermand, 2005, p15 cited in Ellis Jane Literature Review: Better outcomes for children and young People Experiencing
Hester
Abuse – Directions for good Practice.
Domestic
Violence Against Women and Girls in Scotland
There were 59,541
domestic abuse incidents reported to the police in 2017-18 – an increase
In the same reporting year, there were 2,255
cases of rape and attempted rape reported to
substance abuse and death.
Preventable - if social attitudes, values and structures are changed.
prevention may not always be clear, and many prevention programmes may cover more than one.
https://www.gov.scot/publications/recorded-crime-scotland-2017-18/pages/5/
https://www.gov.scot/publications/recorded-crime-scotland-2017-18/
Kelly, Liz (1988) Surviving Sexual Violence.

prevention should take place on many different levels, working not only with
Primary
and small groups but also with whole communities and governments, laws and
individuals
Five essential actions that address the drivers of VAWG have been outlined by the
policies.
Our Watch and are based on promoting and normalising gender equality in both
charity
are to:
They
challenge condoning of violence against women
-
promote women’s independence and decision-making in public life and relationships
-
foster positive personal identities and challenge gender stereotypes and roles
-
strengthen positive, equal and respectful relations between and among women and men,
-
and boys
girls
is important that people of all genders, including boys and men, must be involved in primary
It
The overwhelming majority of VAWG is perpetrated by men and boys, so if this is
prevention.
stop, they must be challenged and supported to change their attitudes and behaviour.
to
the responsibility for ending VAWG ultimately lies with the men and boys who
While
it, every one of us lives in an unequal society that treats men and women
perpetrate
and so we must all examine how we might contribute to continuing this inequality
differently
Primary Prevention?
Why
women and children have a right to a life without violence. There are parallels between
All
prevention of VAWG and primary prevention of illnesses. We would not seek to
primary
a medical epidemic by simply treating the symptoms. We instead take preventative
prevent
to protect the whole population such as ensuring proper sanitation, healthy
measures
vaccination programmes etc. Likewise, with VAWG, we must seek to change our
housing,
and society to prevent it. We must always be ready to respond to VAWG when it
culture
but we should also be working to make sure that it does not happen in the first
happens,
prevention can also represent a major cost saving for public services. According to
Primary
Government estimates, domestic abuse costs the Scottish public purse £2.3
Scottish
budgets including justice, health, policy and charity sector funding. Preventing violence
public
happening in the first place is a much more efficient use of resources than dealing with
from
many serious, long-term consequences of violence. Eradicating VAWG requires a
the
long-term approach and it is vital that primary prevention continues to work
consistent,
public and personal relationships.
- promote and normalise gender equality in public and private life.
(however unintentionally).
place.
billion while VAWG costs Scotland £4 billion.
These costs are born across an array of
alongside services to support those who have suffered violence.
Our Watch 'Putting Prevention into practice'
https://www.gov.scot/Publications/2009/06/02153519/5

does Zero Tolerance Do?
What
Tolerance is a national campaigning organisation working to prevent all forms of VAWG.
Zero
do this through raising public and political awareness of the causes of VAWG and
We
action on prevention.
promoting
Can You Do?
What
a Scotland where VAWG is no longer tolerated and where equal and respectful
Building
become the new norm will involve us all working together to tackle women’s
relationships
in our communities, schools, workplaces and government. To end VAWG we must
inequality
the different ways in which gender inequality will interplay with other forms of
recognise
and so prevention work should be informed by and support women from
discrimination
We can all promote gender equality in our professional and personal relationships.
Individual:
can be leaders in our workplace, communities and social circles by advocating for change
We
Greater resource and effort is also required from organisations and
Organisational:
to ensure they are tackling gender inequality. Actions should include tackling
employers
segregation and the pay gap; providing career development opportunities for
occupational
and offering and promoting parental leave policies to both women and men. Our
women;
Zero Tolerance at Work contains more information on how workplaces can
resource,
gender equality and prevent VAWG.
champion
Scottish leaders can speak publicly about the continuum of VAWG and drive
National:
public understanding of the links between all forms of VAWG and their cause -
greater
social, economic and political inequality. To prevent VAWG, Scotland needs to
women’s
the gender stereotyping and inequality which occurs from an early age and continues
tackle
our lives. To achieve equality and safety for all women, it is vital that we address
throughout
forms of social, political and cultural discrimination, inequality and disadvantage.
all
marginalised groups and with diverse identities.
and challenging gender stereotyping and inequality.
https://www.zerotolerance.org.uk/work-workplace/

info@zerotolerance.org.uk
www.zerotolerance.org.uk
Charity Number
Scottish
SC023484